David Ruth

As the Dean of Students, David Ruth oversees all of the co-curricular aspects of campus life. Ruth joined Drexel in 1992 as a Resident Director in Towers Hall and has worked his way up through the ranks as Director of New Student Orientation, Director of Judicial Affairs, then Assistant Dean and Associate Dean. In 1998, Ruth began overseeing Student Affairs on the Health Sciences campuses and returned to University City Campus in 2004 to become Dean of Students and Chief Student Affairs Officer for all of Drexel.

During his 20 years at Drexel, Ruth played an integral role in managing to the unprecedented growth in our on-campus residential student population, creating a campus culture that understands the importance of student engagement as the cornerstone to retention and graduation, and collaborating across campus to ensure that online students are afforded meaningful opportunities to connect with each other and the campus community. Ruth is vested in campus initiatives that emphasize opportunities for students to heighten their knowledge and skills to be global citizens, participate in a robust residential living experience that fosters learning and living communities, activities that promote retention and persistence of students, and unified collaborations across all physical and virtual campuses and learning environments.

Ruth serves as an adjunct faculty member in the School of Education, where he teaches popular courses on higher education, student affairs and customer service. He frequently speaks regionally and nationally on trends in student affairs in American higher education. He is published in the area of online services for distance education students as well as social networking sites.

Ruth is a member of NASPA, the Student Affairs Administration in Higher Education, and ACPA, College Student Educators International, and the American Education Research Association. Ruth holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from Frostburg State University in Maryland, a Master of Arts degree in Mathematics and Education from Lehigh University, and a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Learning Technology from Drexel's School of Education.

Ruth and his wife, Christine, live in West Chester, Pa., with their four children.